Archive for the ‘License Agreements’ Category

Though I’ve taken a course in C++ and Java programming, I still wonder WTF! When I say this I often think of those companies (Yes, even the open source companies) are thinking when they are trying to merge their desktop/laptop operating systems with their phone operating systems. Now, I agree it would make things simpler in development, but….

It’s obvious that some people often don’t think the same as you or I or even the corporate information technologists. I wonder in their infinite wisdom as they so like to think, have they taken the time out to look at the BIG picture. I’d say they haven’t. The developers would say they have.

Let’s take the major mistake that Microsoft made in this area and what is happening in the open source community. When Microsoft came out with Windows 8, it was advertised as the next major step in operating systems. Those of us that were smart and those in the corporate world bowed out on Windows 8 and even Windows 8.1. There were more than a few reasons behind this.

First the corporate view of this. Their reasoning was three fold. First and foremost was the cost of NEW hardware. Before I began typing this I took a look at Newegg. They are one of many on line retailers of both software and hardware. I found the same thing that the corporations found. The cost of any touch screen exceeds the cost of a REGULAR flat panel computer monitor by anywhere from $150 US to well over triple the cost. That alone would be a huge outlay for corporations even with their volume purchase discounts let along people like you and me. Secondly, let’s look at the cost of retraining personnel in the corporate world. It’s not cheap. Training costs exceed the cost of hardware by far. Retraining for a “touch” operating system would have been exceptionally costly. And there is yet a third reason behind the corporations not moving to a “touch” operating system. The last and probably the most damning of these was the cost of the operating system itself. Microsoft change the licensing on their operating system so it would be even more costly for the corporate world than it was before. Corporations were having NONE of this.

All of these were valid reasons for not just the corporations to pass on Windows 8 and 8.1 but have second thoughts about Microsoft’s half step backwards for Windows 10. It appears Microsoft still hasn’t quite given up on the idea of merging operating systems between phone and desktop/laptop. And it appears that Microsoft is NOT the only one. Canonical (the producers of Ubuntu) are attempting the same thing that Microsoft is doing but in the open source arena. And they are not the only ones either. Even Apple is working on the same aspects (Though, I think that they stand a better chance at making it work).

As I see it, there is NO WAY that a “touch” screen operating system will ever become as productive as a desktop/laptop operating system. First of all, you have to have a very stable base for “touch” to work on anything above perhaps a ten inch screen. Even a ten inch screen is too large in some cases. Then there is the cost of maintenance of those touch screens not just the initial cost of them. Touch screens have to be cleaned with more regularity just to SEE what you’re looking at without eye strain. Yes, the oil that comes from your skin makes a mess of any flat panel. It also makes the eyes strain to see through that mess from all the touching. Do you really want to have to wipe off a beautiful 17 inch or above touch screen monitor just to see what you’re doing in the process of doing it? I certainly don’t.

Perhaps in another generation or two touch will be the rage of the desktop/laptops. However, I like many others who are use to the “old school” methods of computing more than likely won’t be around unless someone finds the fountain of youth. Even then, I don’t think I want to live that long anyway. This entire thing makes me reminisce a scene from one of the original Star Trek movies where Scotty is addressing an “old school” computer with a keyboard like he would the computers on the Enterprise. Quite comical if you ask me.

Ok, everyone has been hearing about Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade lately. I’ve seen only one report that was written with any thought of looking deeply under the hood of Windows 10. I’ve yet to read others. Being an IT technician, I follow big business and their habits about upgrading operating systems and supporting them. Thus is why I keep up with what Microsoft is up to.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine on Internet Relay Chat showed me a copy of a recent email he’d gotten about Windows 10. I was rather dumbfounded to say the least and wasn’t sure if it were a hoax or not. After reading it and Microsoft’s own “privacy statement,” I am even more shell shocked. You can read this “privacy statement” in it’s entirety here:

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’ll be just as shocked as I was. If you think the NSA scandal was bad with your personal information and spying, you haven’t begun to understand government or big business. This “privacy statement” as Microsoft is calling it is ripe for a class action lawsuit. This is nothing more than pure invasion of privacy on the level of if not beyond what the NSA was doing before Edward Snowden released his informative information about what was happening inside the NSA.

Let me list just what they are collecting without their explanation of it. You can go to the above link and find out their definition of the terms I use here under the section : Personal Data We Collect.

Name and contact data

Credentials

Demographic data

Interests and favorites

Payment data

Usage data

Contacts and relationships

Location data

Content

Taken individually or taken as a whole, wouldn’t you think twice before upgrading even if you could turn most of this collection process off? I know I would. Do you think Microsoft is going to do what they say with your personal information? I don’t. I’ll make the wager that Microsoft is going to not only use your personal information but SELL it in order to reap even more money (profit) off their monopolistic ways.

Ok, most of you won’t believe this and probably have already upgraded. All I can say is YOU’LL BE SORRY! Start looking for your junk mail and unk email to fill up beyond capacity and telemarketers to call more than usual. This is only the beginning unless a class action lawsuit is brought against Microsoft. Microsoft will NOT protect your personal data against government agencies unlike Google who has. Microsoft and Uncle Sam are closely tied together at the hip.

For those that are still on Windows 7, stay put till AFTER this gets resolved. Either that or join a growing number of people like myself who are moving away from Windows and to a lesser extent Apple to use open source software (FREE) and the Linux or BSD operating systems. I know. You’ll say it’s harder than Windows or Mac OS X. Yes it can be so take it slow at first if you decide you want to drop kick Microsoft to the curb.

Here’s the upside of moving away from proprietary software: absolutely no cost for the operating system at all, more secure operating system (less virus prone and less spyware prone), faster updates than Microsoft [(first Tuesday of every month) whereas Linux and BSD update shortly after a security issue is found (usually within days not weeks months or years)], and many many more applications than Windows will ever have for you guessed it FREE. The largest upside is that both Linux and BSD operating systems DO NOT collect personal data!

The ball is in your court now. Upgrade or not. Personally, I’ll NEVER look back at Windows again. Even if I do it will NOT be Windows 10 and it will be run in virtual machine NOT my main operating system. I’ve been on Linux (Kubuntu and Fedora Core) for over 8 years now full time. I don’t know it all nor will I ever really know it all. However, I’m happier knowing my system is secure and more stable than Windows (any variant) will ever be.